21k Aussies leave workforce before Christmas

Thousands of Australians have left the workforce in the lead-up until Christmas.

Fresh figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows the number of employees fell by 21,000 in the month of November.

The unemployment rate remained steady at 4.3 per cent.

Leading the falls was a massive reduction in full-time work with 57,000 people leaving the workforce.

This was led by males accounting for 40,000 of the job losses while 16,000 females left full-time work.

Part-time employment partly offset the fall in full-time employment, rising by 35,000.

The number of females working part-time increased by 29,000 and males by 6000.

VanEck head of investments and capital markets Russel Chesler said Thursday’s figures showed the job market remained tight.

“However, there are issues in the labour market relating to productivity, which has had a major impact on Australia’s economic growth and inflation levels,” he said.

“We don’t think Thursday’s labour market data changes anything regarding the RBA’s likely rate path for the coming year.”

Unemployment Figures

Oxford Economics Australia head of economic research and global trade Harry Murphy Cruise said some of the weakness in Thursday’s job figures was just “noise”, with the cooler November following a strong October.

“For that reason, it’s better to focus on underlying trends rather than month-to-month moves,” he said.

“On that front, the picture is of a labour market that is gradually losing momentum: participation is edging lower, unemployment is creeping higher, and forward indicators such as job ads suggest firms are becoming more cautious about hiring.”